In Moments Unsheltered
by The Schizophrenic Gatekeeper
Summary: Tag to 'Before I Sleep'. Mention of Carson BeckettDaniel Jackson and of AU character death.


Carson Beckett watched silently as the corpsmen left the room, leaving him alone with the woman, before sighing softly, sad gaze resting on the sleeping woman. It had taken a little over an hour for her to stabilise enough that he was happy to move her to the infirmary.

He really wished that the others had listened to him. He could understand, after years around Daniel, why they had felt the need to do it. Curiosity could be a very strong motivator. They knew so little about the Ancients, about the city, that any chance they had to further that knowledge wasn't to be ignored. He just wished that they had considered the consequences for this woman a little more before making the decision.

Carson sighed as he stepped closer to the bed to silently stare down at the ancient face. His mother had told him once, that you could tell how wise a person was by how many wrinkles they had and he couldn't help but think, that if that was true, then this old lady had more wisdom than anyone he had ever met.

He reached out to gently pat her hand, offering a quiet apology for what they had done, before turning away to gather the equipment he needed to do the necessary tests.

He stuck his head into the assigned nurse's lounge, asking if one of them could keep an eye on their patient while he was in the store. He didn't want her to be alone, even for the few minutes that it would take. He smiled his thanks to Nurse Andrews as she stood, happy to have something useful to do.

He gathered his supplies quickly, including a small collection of vials containing stimulants, which he had no intention of using, but it was best to be prepared for whatever request Elizabeth and the others might make. Satisfied he placed the supplies on the tray on the EKG trolley before starting to wheel it slowly towards the main room of the infirmary, letting his mind wander for a moment, imaging possible reasons for the woman's time in stasis.

She wasn't sick, and there was nothing in her blood work to suggest that she was the carrier of any kind of disease. In fact, all of the tests he had run so far suggested that she was in perfect health, considering the fact that she had been in stasis for ten thousand years and had a physical age of at least one hundred years.

"She's been asleep the whole time you've been gone," Kristen Andrews supplied as he neared the bed, smiling at him faintly, before looking down at their patient once more, "It's amazing that she's alive, she must be a very strong person," her voice was soft as she reached out to arrange the blanket around the frail body gently.

"Aye," Carson agreed smiling, carefully positioning the trolley before clicking the breaks on carefully, "I expect she's quite a story to tell as well."

Kristen smiled nodding, gazing down on the woman's face for a moment longer before looking up at him, "I heard that Doctor Weir wants cameras set up, to make sure we don't miss anything?"

Carson nodded, "Aye, she does, though no one's set it all up yet."

"I can always go chase them up," she offered, an eyebrow raised and Carson smiled gratefully.

"That'd be wonderful lass."

Kristen nodded, throwing a last glance at their guest, "It's nice to have something to do, it's been so quiet the last few days."

"Aye, for once," Carson smiled, watching her leave before turning back to their guest, quickly and efficiently setting up the EKG and attaching the leads. He turned the machine on, watching the read outs carefully for a few moments before smiling, relieved. It wasn't showing anything out of the ordinary, or at least not when you took into consideration the patient's age.

"Carson?"

He froze, mouth dropping open as he stared at the woman for a moment, before he shook himself, "I'm sorry?"

She smiled up at him softly, "It's so good to see you," her voice was brittle and her cloudy eyes were bright with tears.

Carson smiled down at her gently, "You know me?" he asked, still uncertain.

She nodded slowly, her smile widening weakly, "Of course."

He silently offered her some water, waiting until she had had enough before speaking, "I'm afraid I don't know you."

"Oh but you do," she squeezed his hand gently, watching him with those wise old eyes, "You miss him don't you?"

Carson frowned, "Miss who?"

She smiled chidingly, "Daniel."

Carson stared at her, stunned, "Aye, I do," he whispered softly, squeezing her hand as he nodded.

She smiled again, before sighing, her eyes closing as she fell asleep, still too weak to stay awake for very long.

Carson took a deep breath, all too aware of how badly he was shaking. There were only a few people who knew about his relationship with Daniel, fewer still who knew enough to know that the one thing he longed for, everyday he spent in Atlantis, was to be able to share the experience with his lover.

And none of them were unaccounted for.

--

Carson looked up from his checks, smiling weakly at Elizabeth as she stepped into the room, "She's been asleep for almost the whole time since you left earlier."

He rounded the bed carefully, reaching out to place a gentle reassuring hand on Elizabeth's shoulder for a moment, "I'll let you have some time alone with her, I'll be just down the hall in my office if you need me."

Elizabeth smiled, nodding, meeting his gaze for a moment, "Thank you Carson."

"You're very welcome Elizabeth," he nodded, giving her shoulder one last squeeze before leaving the room quietly. He'd asked for the nurses to keep their distance, they weren't really needed after all. He was more than willing to do all of the checks himself and it didn't seem right to have so many people hanging around. Elizabeth would, hopefully, get at least a few minutes alone with, herself, before she was interrupted, something that Carson had no doubt would happen. Rodney McKay was after all, nothing if not predictable.

--

Carson sighed as he sat down behind his desk, resting his head in his hands for a moment. Of all the possibilities, this wasn't one he had ever considered. The woman, in stasis for so long, was Elizabeth. An Elizabeth who had travelled back in time, spent time with the ancients before being placed into the stasis chamber, for some reason they had yet to learn. And she knew about his relationship with Daniel.

There were two possibilities, she had either always known but had never let on, or she was from the future, a future when he or Daniel had told her the truth. Or maybe there was a third possibility, one that he couldn't see yet.

He sighed again before raising his head; he couldn't let it affect him. It wasn't the end of the world if Elizabeth knew, of all of the Atlantis personnel; she was the one least likely to hold his relationships against him. In fact, the only reason he could see her reacting badly to such a revelation would be because he and Daniel had kept it from her for so long.

--

Carson stepped hesitantly into the room as 'old' Elizabeth continued her story, a single tear running down her face as she described the loss of the transport ship, "Moros ordered them to start the evacuation." She stopped, obviously struggling with what she was saying, her hands shaking as she reaching up to wipe away the tear.

Carson edged between Rodney and John to reach the bedside, reaching out to touch the old woman's hand gently, eyes compassionate, "Maybe you should rest."

She smiled up at him shaking her head, "No, Carson, I need to finish."

He sighed, "At least let me give you something, to make you more comfortable."

"You don't need to worry about me Carson, its okay," she squeezed his hand weakly and he ducked his head, smiling ruefully.

"Actually, I need to..." Elizabeth excused herself awkwardly, patting her elder self on the arm gently before hurrying out of the room.

Carson watched her leave, chewing at his bottom lip for a moment before a gentle tug on his arm brought his attention back to his patient.

"She doesn't know," her voice was soft, "If you're worried."

Carson frowned confused, ignoring Rodney's inquiring look, "I'm afraid I don't quite know what you mean, Elizabeth."

She smiled, tapping him affectionately on the hand, "What I said earlier. You told me, just before..." her voice broke and she stopped, swallowing hard, her eyes shining as she met his gaze, "I was honoured that you trusted me with it."

--

_Carson stumbled as the city shook again, having to grab the wall to stay upright. He recovered quickly, hurrying back to the doorway, "Hurry, come on everyone!"_

_He jogged down the corridor, nudging people forward, only to stand frozen with shock and horror when he reached the top of the stairway. Or at least, where the top of the stairway should have been._

_He stepped forward, placing a hand against the door that was now blocking them from the rest of the city, closing his eyes for a moment and offering a prayer for the people stuck below. He swallowed hard before turning away and back to the people that he might still be able to save._

_He urges the people towards the back of the group to hurry, up the next set of stairs, onto the gate room level and then up again, towards the 'space ships' that might be their only hope. He stops for a moment, glancing back towards the control room, where he knows Rodney will still be, working on the problem, before he hurries up the stairs. He has to focus on these people, they're his responsibility._

_He meets Lieutenant Ford at the top of the stairs and they exchange a worried look before they both start to urge the small ragged group on. After a moment, Ford hurries on ahead, preparing to show them where they need to go. Carson stays making sure no one lags behind._

_Carson's heart jumps to his throat a moment later when a loud ominous noise accompanies another shudder of the city. He knows, without anyone telling him, that they've lost the gateroom. He swallows after a moment, pushing the grief for a man he still barely knows to the back of his mind. He can mourn later. If he survives._

_That last thought almost brings him to his knees. It hasn't even been two hours yet and already, he's broken his promise to Daniel._

_The memory of Daniel standing above him, looking down at him from the control room at the SGC, blue eyes bright with emotion flashes before his eyes and he swallows hard. There is one good thing about all of this and that's that General O'Neill didn't change his mind. Didn't let Daniel join them._

_So even if Carson dies here, Daniel will still be alive. It's comforting to know._

_He grips that thought tightly as he gathers himself and jogs back to the stairs, past a few stragglers, making sure that there's no one else to come. Once he's satisfied that that's the case he turns and starts to make his own way to the ships, staying behind the last of the stragglers._

_"Elizabeth," he clicks his radio back on with a heavy heart._

_"Doctor Beckett?" her voice comes over the radio, thick with worry._

_"There's something I'd like to ask of you."_

_"You need to get to a ship!" she commands urgently and Carson smiles despite himself._

_"I'm on my way; I've got some people with me as well," he answers, more to put her at ease than anything else, "But like I say, there's something I want you to promise me."_

_She hesitates for a moment before she answers with a pained, "Anything."_

_"If you ever get back to Earth, or if they ever find you, would you tell Doctor Jackson that I'm sorry."_

_"Doctor Jackson?" she's startled and his smile widens faintly._

_"Aye. If you tell Daniel that, he'll understand," Carson replies before turning his radio off, glancing down as water starts to lap at his boots._

--

Carson knocked, waiting until Elizabeth looked up before stepping into her office. He pulled the door closed behind him slowly.

"Carson," Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, lips quirking, "what can I do for you?"

Carson smiled, slipping into the chair in front of her desk, glancing around at the still sparse looking office, "I know it's late, but here," he held out a small box to her, ignoring her suspicious glare.

She opened the box slowly, eyes widening with surprise, she looked up at him smiling, "Where did you get this?"

"I asked Teyla if she could keep an eye out for me, she brought that back last week," Carson answered, shrugging idly.

Elizabeth drew the delicate bracelet out of the box gently, examining the red stones that had been set carefully into what looked to her like silver, "It's beautiful Carson, though I don't know when I'll get a chance to wear it, thank you."

Carson waved her off, "I thought you deserved something nice for your birthday, you've been under a lot of pressure."

Elizabeth smiled as she placed the bracelet back in its box carefully, "So you were the one who told Sheppard?"

Carson ducked his head guiltily, "Aye, though only because he heard me talking to Teyla. I'm sorry."

Elizabeth shook her head, "It's fine, don't worry about it," she paused leaning forward, watching Carson carefully, "There's another reason you came to see me, isn't there?"

Carson sighed softly before nodding, "Aye there is."

"Is there something wrong?" she broached carefully, sensing his hesitation.

"In a way there is, yes," Carson meet her gaze carefully, "There's something that I think you need to know."

Elizabeth frowned, concerned, "Okay."

Carson took a deep breath, gathering himself before he continued, "I was in a relationship, on Earth," he stopped again, watching her for any sign of a negative reaction, "with Doctor Jackson."

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she let out a startled breath, sitting back in her chair, staring at him for a long moment, trying to process what he was telling her, "Doctor Jackson?"

Carson nodded, "Yes."

"I never," she shook herself, before smiling ruefully at Carson, "But that was the point wasn't it, no one was supposed to know?"

Carson winced, nodding, "Aye," he sighed, "We agreed that because of the military, don't ask, don't tell and all of that nonsense, it was best if we stayed quiet about our relationship."

Elizabeth nodded, understanding, "It would have been too much of a risk," she watched him for a moment, "Why are you telling me this now?"

"The other you," he smiled apologetically, "she knew."

Elizabeth looked down for a moment, toying with the box in front of her, "So you decided to tell me."

Carson nodded, "It seemed wrong, that she knew, but you didn't."

Elizabeth nodded, gaze remaining lowered for a moment before she looked up at him, a warm smile on her lips, "Thank you for trusting me Carson."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner Elizabeth," he replied sincerely, expression pained.

She shook her head, reaching out to squeeze his hand, "I understand why you didn't," she allowed after a moment watching him carefully, her expression softening, "You miss him."

Carson nodded, taking a deep breath, "I do," he swallowed hard, "everyday."


End file.
